Claws over Karovioa
by Gree
Summary: The Eagle Claws engage the Tau in an Imperial Crusade. Inspired by TheLoneHunter's excellent stories.
1. The Infiltration

This is the first my Eagle Claws stories. This is part one in a three-part story. Forgive me because this is my first time writing Tau and I might get some details wrong.

This was written after reading Lone Hunter's works. A great author and I urge you to read his story.

CLAWS OVER KAREVIOA

The sewer lid in the pristine alien streets was prized off without too much effort. A filth-encrusted figure hoisted himself up, behind the figure followed a procession of similarly armored and dirty warriors. When the Imperium launched a crusade force of twelve Imperial Guard regiments to reclaim the world of Karevioa Prime, called Ka'vio, by the aliens, from the Tau Empire they needed to gain a foothold on the planet.

To do that the Astartes of the Eagle Claws Fifth Company were petitioned to take the Tau Spaceport, in order to that however they had to destroy the aerial defenses that the Tau had constructed on the spaceport. The spaceport, originally called Geralf Station by the humans and called Yu'Yanoi by the Tau was the most critical spot on the planet, fortunately the Tau were not expecting an attack, however they were not entirely undefended.

So a thunderhawk had slipped through the Tau sensors with thirty scouts from Eagle Claws 10th company that were attached to the crusade and landed outside the spaceport in he desert. Imperial spies had unidentified a sewer system that run under the city that the astartes scouts could use to near the command center for the xenos aerial defenses and destroy that, rendering the missiles and pulse guns pointed at the skies useless.

To trudge in the collected filth of the sewers, the collected waste of the human lackeys under the Tau and the various xenos races united under the Tau banner was insulting and degrading to the proud Eagle Claws. But the scouts bore their humiliation with silent pride and it paid off. Their leader, Scout sergeant Belsarius looked around, his flicking on his thermal goggles before moving into a nearby alleyway.

The alien Tau architecture was clustered with human buildings haphazardly, the Tau had only recently conquered the planet six years ago. Enough time for them to become entrenched but not deeply so. Six years ago the planet had been taken from it's rightful rulers by these arrogant xenos. In that time for the monolithic war machine of the Imperium to be assembled to retake the planet.

When the Eagle Claws had been petitioned on their home planet of Caesarea they had been pleased to undertake the mission to help cleanse the planet of the perfidious aliens who had conquered it.

And so now they where here.

Belsarius made a set of hand signals as the three squads under his command, one under Scout sergeant Cassius, and the other under Saetius, moved out quickly in the alleyways of the Tau city. Up above was the xenos command center, a collection of tall elegant spires marked with odd alien symbols and arcane sensor dishes. A trio of battlesuits took guard at the gates of the building. Tall machines with angular senor heads and harsh armor plate.

As one of the glowing green sensor heads of the battlesuits turned towards the scouts the Tau pilot realizes that they had intrudes and attempted to raise the various weaponry in his suit. A missile streaked out of nowhere and impacted the Crisis suit, ripping apart the elegant lines of the tau construct with ease and sending shrapnel of red-hot metal flying into he streets.

Two more missiles corkscrewed out and one slammed into a second battlesuit, destroying it in a similar way as well. However the last missile missed the remaining xenos suit and it opened fire with it's burst cannons. The rounds chewed up the concrete and the crumpled corpses of two scouts fell dead in the alleys. However a wave of bolter fire from almost thirty scouts ripped apart the remaining battlesuit.

Belsarius looked over the dead forms of the scouts and mentally cursed before giving another set of hand signals that send his and Cassius's squads racing towards the gates as another missiles impacted against the gates and blew it to smithereens. Inside where hastily forming up Fire warriors who shot through the smoke, three more scouts went down, two dead and another wounded. Bolter fire answered and felled ten fire warriors. The rest of the xenos were still hastily forming up, robotic helms darting in confusion.

The astartes ploughed through the smoke, hurled grenades that landed among the tau warriors, blowing the surprised xenos to shreds. The scouts withdrew chain-blades and long combat knives and ploughed in. It was no contest, each the scouts was a superior close combatant to his opposite number and in less than five minutes the twenty Tau fire warriors were slain. Is wasn't even a fight, it was a slaughter.

Quickly without pause Belsarius broke radio slice. ''Move! Move! Saetius move up to the buildings and set up sniping points. Cassius take five and grab the wounded, the rest with me.'' He barked out. He and two scouts with shotguns ran up to the large doors of the spire and kicked in it. Inside were members of the Earth Caste that they had been debriefed about. Belsaris and the scouts didn't waste any time in cutting them down with a burst of fire.

''Squad form up and move behind me. Claws of the Emperor, Death to his foes!'' he shouted the Eagle Claws battle cry over the vox-link that the scouts had incorporated into their armor. It was repeated back to him quickly. He ran down the hallways, bolter spitting shells, cutting down Tau whether they where non-combatants or not. These upstart xenos must be taught a lesson. The scout sergeant thought.

And the one that would do it was the Eagle Claws, only through martial perfection in humanities spirit could the day be won. Some called the Eagle Claws arrogant but they knew better. He came to a set of doors and kicked it in before hurling a frag grenade into the room. Inside where several fire warriors who raised their pulse rifles just in time to be cur down by the concussive force and shrapnel of the grenade.

Belsarisus's squad cut down the rest easily enough and the scouts ran over to corpses and put an extra bolt round into them, just to be sure of their success. The Eagle Claws took no chances. Moving over to the large station of arcane computers and odd devices with flickering blue lights. Belsarius took out his melta charges and taped them to the side before turning and signaling his squad out of the blast range who had just accomplished similar tasks.

As they turned from the hallways be brought out the charge detonator, jest as they cleared the building he pressed the button. Immediately the room and the eastern half of the building was consumed in a firestorm that annihilated everything within. The Eagle Claws sergeant panted and dove to the side as rounds chew up the ground near him, killing a scout. He looked out to see six crisis suits moving towards the scout's positions in the towers and ruins. Behind them where two Devilfish skimmers and forty fire warriors and twenty kroot with snarling Kroot hounds.

The xenos warriors were armed with long pulse rifles that resembled long thin blocks with targeting wires. The Tau wore carapace armor marked with the alien symbols as earlier and robotic helmets. One of the tau sergeants. Shas'ui. He recalled was the equivalent, fell over back, his head blown of by a sniper round from one of Saetius's snipers, three fire warriors also fell dead near him.

A return burst of pulse rounds forced the Eagle Claws back into the alien walls and ruins of the command center. Belsarius fished around in one of his equipment pockets and pulled out a large block device and activated it. Crisis suits jetted forward to get a better shot at the scouts as the kroot leaped effortlessly through the rubble and craters the street, firing their crude single shot rifles at the astartes scouts.

The hounds leapt forward and a hail of bolter rounds cut them down, all except one who leapt on a scout and ripped out his throat. Belsarius shot the hound with his bolt pistol, blowing its brains out. But by then the kroot leapt into the cage, blades on the ends of their rifles swinging as they beheaded two more scouts and slashed another two down. A hail of bolter fire answered them, cutting down seven kroot warriors as the scouts rushed forward.

They where dangerously outnumbered, Belsarius reflected as one of Saetius's scouts cut killed by the fire from the crisis suits. He activated his chainsword and decapitated a kroot warrior. One kroot warrior, larger than the rest, tossed aside a scout and leapt at Belsarius. The scout sergeant recognized it as a shaper and shot it in the chest with his pistol, the round blew a heap of alien viscera behind it.

The corpse landed on Belsarius knocked it to the ground as the scout sergeant hurriedly kicked it off. He found his footing when he barely dodged a strike from a kroot warrior; he severed the alien's arm with in one blow and bisected it with another. Then their were flashes of blue light as fifteen shapes reveled themselves in the ruins. They where enormous purple and gold shapes clad in ornate terminator armor inscribed with purity seals.

The elite Terminators of the Eagle Claws 1st Company turned around charged into the melee, their power fists easily slaying the remaining kroot. The aliens where crushed and throw aside like dolls as the terminators took up position amount the ruins. As the crisis suit turned its attention to the new arrivals a missile slammed into a battle suit and blew it to shreds, shield drones were blow apart by concentrated volleys of bolter rounds from Squad Saetius.

Plasma fire and burst cannon rounds tore into the ruins but on one terminator fell bleeding to the floor. The rest leveled their weapons and opened up a firestorm into the crisis suits in the street. The alien battlesuits were torn apart in a firestorm of assault cannon rounds and storm bolter shells. The pieces of scarp metal that where once the Tau Empire's finest decorated the streets.

The Tau fire warriors began to withdraw, firing their pulse rifles. Another terminator fell, but the Eagle Claws turned all their weapons to the remaining Fire Warriors and opened fire with all guns. Out of the group of almost thirty fire warriors only one survived, he dropped his gun and ran down the streets. Carefully one of Saetius's snipers lined up a shot and fired. The xeno corpse dropped to the street, dead.

Belsarius sighed as he saw began to tend to the nearest battle brother; the scout to had his throat mangled by the alien hound. All the Eagle Claws sergeants were required to take apothecary training. Whereas other chapters like the Blood Angels of Space Wolves were renowned for their unique specialties the Eagle Claws were a mostly codex chapter, save one thing, they were utterly dedicated to genetic purity. They had a large number of apothecaries in the chapter.

He began to clean the wound, the sewer filth had gotten in the wound earlier but the astartes enhanced immune system could easily deal with it. As he began to perform battlefield surgery he heard stops behind him. It was sergeant Trajan of the terminators who prized off his helmet and looked at him. ''You look like shit'' he said. Belsarius sighed. ''Yes I know'' the scouts would never hear the end of the jokes when the First Company veterans got back to the chapter.

''You did well; I'm going to recommend the survivor for full entrance into the line brothers said the veteran. Only Belsarius's discipline allowed him to concentrate on the wound. ''Really?'' he asked. Trajan nodded as the other terminators took up positions. ''Of course if we survive what the Tau have been planning for us, they probably got advanced forces headed towards us'' he stated.

''But'' he turned around. In the sky were red-hot drop pods descending through the air, unchallenged by the deactivated air defenses of the Tau. The Eagle Claws Fifth Company had arrived.

''I think we don't need to worry about that.'' He finished.


	2. The Drop

Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer 40k. I own the Eagle Claws. All 3,000 points of them.

Author's notes: I did this chapter after reading Starship troopers, a good book.

* * *

The Eagle Claws drop pods plunged through the atmosphere, each pod was glowing red hot as they tore screaming through the planet's atmosphere to their destination, each containing their deadly payload, for some the Emperor's astartes, for others, deathwind-class drop pods laded with weaponry.

The drop pods where from the Eagle Claws Fifth and Seventh companies. Captain Gaius Kommneus, a marine who had been barley twenty years as captain of the fifth, but had already been respected by his peers for his exemplary command, led both companies.

Each company was divided in half, one led by Kommneus, one by his Chaplain Scipo and Librarian Demertius, and the other two by seventh company captain Titus and his Librarian Quintius. On the battle barges the groups loaded their bolters and donned power armor covered in blessed lapping oil. They attended a sermon over a vox-link by Chaplain Scipo before the drop was launched. They completed war rites. They were demi-gods of battle.

Captain Kommneus was the first to go.

His command drop pod hit the xenos streets with an earth-shaking thud. Around his pod the other drop pods of the Fifth Company moved clear of the xenos buildings due to the arcane guidance systems. Nearby fire warriors rushed out of buildings.

Captain Kommneus immediately sped out of his drop pod as soon as the sealed doors burst open and pulled out his ornate storm bolter, the side plating of the weapon fashioned to resemble a molded eagle's wings and the head into an eagle head. Nearby a startled squad of alien warriors fired upon his drop pod, one of his veterans in the command squad fell wounded; the xenos's aim had been obviously shaken by the astartes's sudden assault.

Kommneus immediately opened fire along with his command squad, reducing the xenos warriors to bloody puffs of crimson mist and gore, nearby the form of Dreadnought Xenphon emerged and opened fire with his assault cannon, finishing the last of the aliens out. Nearby the drop pods blew out their side doors and Eagle Claws clambered out in a tide of purple-armored warriors. Kommneus quickly took stock of the situation. Three tactical squads, an assault squad and a devastator squad along with the ancient Xenphon and his own command squad had come.

That was about half the 5th company's total battle force. ''Damn'' Kommneus had muttered, he had no idea where Chaplain Scipo and Librarian Demertius were in this alien battleground.

He shrugged, the servos of his power armor mimicking his movement. ''Move out and get into cover brother!'' he ordered into the vox-link of the Eagle Claws power armor. His battle brothers moved out quickly efficiently.

The Eagle Claws fought with a doctrine of perfection. They attempted to hold a pre-set combat doctrine for all fighting situations if possible. That included heavy vehicles and air support, something that the astartes didn't have at the moment. But that was fine for the Eagle Claws. Captain Kommneus had studied under Captain Basiclus, the great war hero himself. He took on his teacher's motto of improvising, adapting and overcoming any obstacles.

''Euridian, Callides, you two take point, Sulguion, cover then, the rest move out.'' He ordered, running through the alien streets he glanced around looking for alien snipers in the buildings.

Kommneus wore an ancient suit of Mk IV armor handed down in the chapter's armories. Over the centuries it had been repaired by the chapter's techmarines after battle damage it had taken in its long and illustrious service.

Below that armored plate and helm he was a fine-featured marine, the product of Caesarea's finest mining clans, he had close cut blonde hair and tanned skin, cris-crossed with dueling scars over his cheeks. He pulled up the map of the xenos city from the Imperial records of the planet. Of course much had changed in the years, but the map should remain a useful navigation tool. Or so Kommneus hoped.

''Those intelligence bastards, we should have never taken this for granted, how the hell did this escape our perfection?'' he asked his second in command Marius Flavius. The veteran marine shrugged,

''Imperial intelligence is flawless my lord, according to them. We can hope that these xenos sum haven't managed to radically change the planet's basic infrastructure and city planning'' he remarked.

''Dammit, well if we have to we will deal with it, it is out perfection that will lead us to victory.'' The captain spoke.

''Perfection sir'' Marius agreed with him, shouldering his bolter and scanning around.

''Battle suits sir, coming in hard and fast from six o'clock'' he said, this time switching to the Caesarean combat-cant, in case the xenos had managed to hack into the vox-network of the Eagle Claws. He had seen their tech in the briefings.

''Sulguion take out those suits now'' Kommneus commanded. There where nine battle suits, behind them where several large kroot packs and three devilfish transports filled with fire warriors.

Heavy bolter fire tore into a pair of battle suits, ripping them apart in bursts of wires and gore as fire from Xenphon punched through the armor of two more xenos constructs. Answering fired from the Tau felled five astartes as the tactical squads under Kommneus's senior sergeants answered back with volleys of bolter fire. The massed bolter fire from almost fifty marines destroyed the remaining battle suits, the tau battle platforms being ripped apart in a storm of bolter and plasma rounds. Behind them the xenos warriors moved through the buildings.

Pulse rounds whipped through the streets and six marines crumpled in bloody sprays to the round, their power armor ruptured. Pulse fire panged off of Xenphon's armor as he lumbered forward, assault cannon spitting death. The dreadnought charged into a group of kroot fire warriors who leapt and danced at the huge imperial war machine, the dreadnought ignored their attempts to penetrate it's war-scarred hide and he crushed three of the xenos while his heavy flamer roasted seven more.

Burst cannons from the Tau devilfish transports cut down a pair of assault marines as Callides's astartes charged into a group of xenos soldiers, their chainswords falling down in prays of alien blood. Kommneus gave a cheer and he fired his storm bolter, killing three fire warriors emerging from the hatches of the devilfish. Bolter fire ripped into fire warriors that were coming out of the transports.

Limbs were torn apart and flung in all directions as blood spattered the armor and shields of the tau transports, corkscrewing rockets from the astartes devastators destroyed two of the transports, but the last xenos gunship charged it's engines and jetted out of the battle. Kommneus drew his blade. ''Claws of the Emperor!'' he shouted. ''Death to his foes!'' the surrounding astartes of his company yelled as they charged into the kroot warriors near Xenphon.

A snarling sea of beaks and flesh-hair faced Kommneus as he beheaded the first xenos warrior, his powered blade smoking as it ripped through wiry muscle of the neck in a welter of gore. Komneus barely wasted time before kicking the next kroot in the chest. The ribs of the alien collapsed under the gene-enhanced strength of an astartes limb. Kommneus fired his storm bolter, splattered the bodies of two more kroot warriors into the once pristine pavement.

Xenphon crushed the skulls of the last xenos warriors and cast their broken bodies under his amethyst feet. ''They were quick to move captain, but poorly equipped to face vehicles'' he said.

Kommneus looked the xenos over, their bodies shattered and pulped, only one marine had fallen to the xenos.

''Indeed, ugly brutes aren't they? It'd be a service to the Emperor.'' the captain remarked.

Kommneus looked over to see Apothecaries Vitellius and Numerian work on the astartes wounded that were strewn in the battle-pocked streets. The weapons of the tau were potent, but the excellence of the chapter's apothecaries was more.

''My lord, thunderhawk flights 2-14 approaching your position'' the dry tone of a servitor in the combat-cant of Caesarea sounded in his ears. Kommneus looked up to see said flight of thunderhawks cruising over the tau buildings. The gunships landed and Kommneus could see that two predator tanks, two vindicators and several rhinos and razorback APC's dropped from the support latches of the belies of the thunderhawks.

From one thunderhawk emerged the form of the 5th company's other dreadnought. Diocletian who moved forward to join that of his brother Xenphon. Kommneus marched over to the nearest rhino marked with his command symbols. The latch of the rhino fell open as his warriors moved into each of the transport vehicles. Nearby the apothecaries menial and servitors in the thunderhawks gathered the wounded and the geneseed from Vitellius and Numerian to take back to the Perfection's Light, the Eagle Claws's orbital strike cruiser.

Kommneus then accessed his vox-link. ''Brothers of the 5th! Mount up and move out at these co-ordinates'' he pushed out a series of runes and numbers on the green command screen of his rhino. The runs flowed and reformed in the screen into a map of the city.

''We move for the Tau command center for this city, the Imperial Guard Jipponesse 34th Drop regiment has already begun landings in the airfields. Our brethren will aid them, but for now it is now to take out the Tau command center'' the captain roared.

There was a chorus of affirmatives as Kommneus shut of the comm and braked out an order to the driver of the rhino, which was obeyed instantly as the tough APC began to drive quickly. Like his teacher Kommneus favored armored assaults when given a choice, normally when facing Tau it was unwise in risking the venerable vehicles of the chapter against the accursed xenos railguns, but in the cramped quarters of the city it should be easier to evade Tau firepower.

* * *

The terminator squads led by Trajan trekked over pristine xenos streets and buildings, their weapons cutting down the occasional group of confused kroot and tau as they made their way to the Tau command center.

A thunderhawk had arrived and picked up the scouts wounded. Belsarius had taken his scouts with Trajan in order to rendezvous with the main force of astartes under Captain Kommenus himself. The purple clad warriors moved quickly, the assault cannons and storm bolters of the Terminators covering all angles of approach that the Eagle claws could see into the terraced boulevards.

The perfection of the Tau architecture both pleased and sickened the Eagle Claws, everything was cut to geographical precise lines, but the fact that is was irrevocably tainted by the xenos disgusted them. The Eagle Claws had not patience for the upstart xenos who dares stab mankind in the back when they were battling for the future of the universe against the multitude horrors of Chaos.

No, there would be no mercy for the Tau when the Eagle Claws were done with them.

Trajan's vox-link crackled to life. ''Brother-sergeant'' the voice was that of Librarian Demertius, the 5th company's librarian. ''My lord he responded in the Eagle Claws's combat-cant.

''Correct, our drop pods landed near the kroot warrens of the Tau, we spent the last half-hour cleansing the quarter of the perfidious aliens'' the calm, almost serene voice of the librarian answered the terminator commander. Above Trajan's gene-enhanced eyes made out the forms of the Librarian and about forty astartes. They strode forward confidently, their armor battle-scarred and covered in xenos blood

''It's good to see you Demertius in this disgusting xenos abomination'' Trajan said. Demertius, a marine with a bionic left eye lost against the elder raiders on Scurivus Nine shrugged.

''It is not that bad, you do not see the tortured bodies of human slaves being butchered on sacrificial altars to heathen gods'' the Librarian responded.

''It's not that, it's the overbearing arrogance of these aliens who think they can subjugate humanity'' the sergeant replied.

''These aliens even attempted to negotiate with the greenskin barbarians for the Primarch's sake! It's in my opinion that we are doing the universe a favor by exterminating these Tau and their 'Greater Good'.''

Demertius turned and walked, the force of Eagle Claws rallying around his position in a pattern-perfection formation along the outcroppings of concrete and bulbous alien architecture.

''These are the aliens who have invented powerful weapons, have you forgotten railguns brother?'' Trajan spat on the ground.

''A vile invention, these warriors have little honor, hiding behind their technology and arrogance'' he snarled.

''Then we shall have plenty of chances to slay them'' Demertius said.

As the marines jogged around the cover a rail gunshot ripped into the concrete sheets and impacted into a delicate alien antennae array, barely missing Trajan by inches, sizzling the paint on his terminator armor.

Trajan swore and then moved near a pile of rubble and opened fire with his storm bolter as his terminator veterans followed suit. Demertius fired his jump pack and flew with his assault squad to the roof of a nearby building. The rest of the Eagle Claws hunkered down and returned fire at the large Tau group clustered around a set of fortified buildings. A large series of landing pads stretched out at the astartes vision while a tall communications tower protruded menacingly into the sky.

''Well my brother it looks like we have found the Tau'' Demertius said as the butchery began.


	3. The Castle

Kommneus

Declaimer: I do not own Warhammer 40k

Author's Notes: This will be the final chapter of Claws over Karevioa, a sequel might be in the making for the second part, I don't know.

Chapter 3

Tau pulse fire whipped about a storm of death as the Eagle Claws took cover amidst the wreckage near the xenos headquarters. Other groups of space marines crouched behind trees and bushes as the sensor eyes of the Tau battlesuits tracked them.

A devastator squad set up their lascannons and brought crimson fire to bear on the Tau. The heat signatures of the enemy shone brightly in the astartes sensors. Shots from the large cannons blew apart a pair of crisis suits before pulse fire decapitated an astartes and forced the rest down.

Missiles from the xenos streaked towards the marines' position, killing another astartes as the marines edged forward at Curtius's urging. The librarian launched bolts of psychic energy from his sword, frying several nearby fire warriors in their tan armor plate.

''Brothers!!'' he shouted through the vox-link in Caesarean combat-cant.

''Everyone open fire! Provide cover for the assault squads!'' he shouted, chopping his hand down as a storm of fire lashed out from the surviving marine squads.

The Eagle Claws could not hope to out shoot the xenos. But they did not need to as the pair of assault squads in the Eagle Claws astartes force activated their jump packs and landed in the Tau positions.

Bolter rounds ripped apart fire warriors at close range as the xenos warriors fired off a short burst from their pulse rifles before being overtaken by the Eagle Claws. Combat knives shattered against power armor and chainswords drove brutally into the flesh of the Tau.

Trajan got up and ran forward. His terminators and a nearby tactical squad behind him. ''Fulgerion, take the flank, Branch out and surround them! Now!'' Curtius shouted, firing his bolt pistol as he went. The veterans with gilded armor and numerous scroll decorations immediately obeyed his orders.

The Tau battlesuits activated their own jet packs and opened fire with their weapons, shots blew limbs off astartes and ripped off chunks of amour in puffs of blood, but only a single astartes was killed as the rest rushed forward.

Fulgerion was a first company squad armed with Kraken penatrator rounds that tore effortlessly through the plate of the fire warriors as the veterans piled in. Fuglerion's own power sword cut down the last of the xenos.

Bolter fire blew holes through robotic limbs and armor the Tau battlesuits fired back, killing four astartes as they landed nearby on the landing pads and returned fire to the Eagle Claws who hunkered down again.

About a dozen more fire warriors emerged from the landing pads along with a pack of kroot who led several slavering kroot hounds. A thick buzzing sound filled the air as ten Vespid stingwings appeared.

''Vespid!'' Trajan announced. ''Damn bugs'' Curtius muttered.

''Fulgerion, Trajan, I want them to be paste in the ground now'' he said as some fire whipped out from the two squads.

The Kraken rounds and the assault cannon of Trajan's squad ripped through the entire group of Vespid. The enhanced bolter rounds blowing apart the alien warriors in mid-flight and sending bits and pieces of viscera tumbling down amid a rain of blood.

Pulse fire and bolter rounds were exchanged as the astartes pounded towards the Tau warriors, who scattered behind a series of low-set fences while the kroot leapt into attack with lethal grace and speed.

''Hounds! Hounds! Get a flamer now!'' A sergeant yelled as the kroot hounds tackled several marines to the ground. One of Curtius's command squad brought out a flamer, blue flames licking the barrel; and pulled the trigger.

The marines with their sealed power armor were safe from the inferno, but the unarmored kroot were not. Screeching from the pain as their skin burned off the kroot fled in agony. The astartes of Curtius's command squad and the tactical marines around him go back to their feet, despite a rain of pulse rounds whipping near them.

Curtius's could se that it was the flaming bodies of the Kroot that were confusing their aim. Not willing to waste the tactical advantage He raised his force blade and gave a battle-cry.

''Forward! Kill them all!'' he yelled as his command group and the tactical marines around him leapt in, bolter fire cutting down the dying kroot as Curtius leapt into the midst of the startled Tau, his sword decapitating two warriors.

The Space marines cave in like a sledgehammer, knives ploughed into alien throats while the marines bashing in alien skulls with bolter butts and snapped Tau necks like twigs.

Beyond in the doors of the command center Curtius's enhanced vision spotted the forms of several more fire warriors in scarred tan armor firing on the marines behind cover. He ran to the side, chopping his sword down as the marine carrying the flamer hurried forward.

Another gout of flame engulfed the bolter-shattered wall, roasting the forms of the Tau inside. Curtius immediately kicked of when the flame cleared, smashing down a crude barricade and firing his bolt pistol into the close confines of the Tau fortress.

To either side of him were dead fire warriors, in front of him was a wide area, almost like an auditorium, several odd machines were at work, clustered at the far end of the hallway were the forms of Tau who were rapidly fleeing the invasion force. Some of them were leaving behind hastily throw barricades. They all seemed to be dressed in blue robes, or a variation of it, probably civilians.

He immediately took stock of the situation. Fulgerion and Quintus were behind him with Trajan right behind, judging by the heavy step his terminator suit was making as he stamped across the floor.

He looked across the walls, some sort of alien posters were plastered across the walls, scenes showing victorious Tau shaking hands with humans. He looked on in disgust at the sight of such vile alien propaganda.

Only the weakest humans, those who had lost faith in the Emperor would be swayed by such filth. No citizen of Caesarea would ever even doubt his faith for a second when confronted by one of those.

One of his marines raised the flamer, blue flames flickering on the blackened barrel as he pressed the trigger. ''Don't do it''' he warned the marine who looked at him quizzically.

''Sir!'' he asked perplexed.

''We don't need to waste fuel on ammo on those'' he pointed out.

Behind them rumbled footsteps. ''How are we Librarian?'' asked Trajan as he lumbered besides Curtius.

''You finish off those crisis suits?'' the officer asked.

''Of course, multiple bolter rounds really does the trick.'' He boasted.

''All right, let's move out, Fulgerion's group take point, mission: search and destroy, kill every damn alien you find'' Curtius rattled off, reloading his bolt pistol as he did so.

''Claws of the Emperor-'' he began.

''Death to his foes!'' his marines answered him as the astartes broke out into a run. Within minutes they planted melta charges at each barricade and blasted them free before heading down the hallways.

Fulgerion's squad of veterans and his own assault marines trailed behind him, bolters and pistols at ready. Occasionally his enhanced eyesight caught view of a fire warrior and he let off a hail of bolter rounds at the end of the pristine alien hallways.

Occasionally he found a fluttering drone moving about the place, still performing it's tasks programmed by it's controllers, the astartes ignored them as they were no threat and there was no point in wasting ammunition.

However mostly they could not find any of the xenos in their own infrastructure. Usually that would mean only two things, a bomb or an ambush. However the combat doctrine of the xenos that the Librarian had studied before the battle had pointed out to him that the Tau usually did not do such things.

As he moved through the hallways his vox-link crackled to life. ''Sir the Tau are evacuating into some sort of airfield, we are being blocked by heavy resistance, some sort of Tau honor guard soldiers and Crisis suits, can't get around them request immediate backup'' rattled off Quintus.

''Understood'' Curtius ran up a walkway with his marines behind him, he activated a viewscreen inside his helmet, pulling up the signal from Quintus's armor and it's location.

Thirty feet to their left. Curtius's and his marines ran across the sturdy walkway, bashing apart doors and chairs of alien make in their implacable stride towards the sergeant's position.

At last the came to a blank wall with clear windows. Luxurious chairs with fine engravings lined the room. From what Curtius could see they contained pictures of some sort of alien birds carved on them.

It was some sort of decadent Xenos stateroom; Curtius didn't care especially about the fact as he whipped around looked at the clear glass wall. Scores of Tau civilian refugees were fleeing into fish-like cargo transports.

Casting his view further down, some sort of honor guard in white loincloths and ornate armor where firing their pulse rifles at the purple-clad figures of Quintus and Trajan. Alongside these warriors were the angular frog-legged forms of the crisis suits.

Raising his hand Curtius spoke a single word and the glass panes shattered, falling into a cascade of sharp glass into the concrete floor several feet below, the light chasing briefly off their forms.

He and his force of marines lined up and opened fire, the multitude of bolter rounds ripping into the Tau. The kraken rounds of Fulgerion's veterans felled several of the warriors, their armor no worth against the special ammunition.

He then activated his jump pack, lifting himself and several other assault marines into the middle of the crisis suits, his blade clove a suit from head to crotch, the energized sword easily cutting the metal and alien flesh of the pilot like water.

Blood and electricity wept out of the wounds as the two halves of the alien weapon fell to the ground gone. Behind him his warriors moved into combat as one-by-one the veterans of Fulgerion leapt down from their high perch.

His souls cried with exhilaration at the thought of victory so close, the climax of the fight was near and the wrath of the emperor soon at hand. All across the field Eagle Claws moved up.

Bolter volleys slaughtered dozens of Tau civilians as they fled. The soul of Curtius felt nothing but contempt for these xenos. They did not have the guts to stand and fight like their warriors, no, these were the accountants and the politicians of the Tau, conductors of an invasion on holy Imperial ground.

He removed the arm of a crisis suit as it attempted to bring its gun to bear on his form, but he was too fast. His blade then crackled with blue energy as a bolt of psychic might lanced into the suit, ripping it apart in a shower of flame.

The remaining crisis suits where brought down by the chainblades and bolters of the assault marines. But as they died Curtius threw his attention away from the dying and saluted the dead Tau warriors.

Filthy xenos or not they were still warriors and he had to respect that, even as he sent them into hell. The fires of victory built up into a nova of excitement in his breast as he let the emotion flow out of him.

Activating his vox-link he barked out a set of commands to Imperial fighter command. Even as the tau transports lifted off into the horizon he would see Thunderbolt fighters and Lightning's chase after it.

Trajan walked up beside him. His armor covered in xenos blood. ''They're all dead sir, all that we could reach, all resistance here is finished librarian.'' He him flatly.

''Good, then we must complete the latter part of our objective.'' Said Curtius.

''The good Sisters of the Ordo Dialogus and the Ordo Xenos want a good look at the information that the Tau have contained in their headquarters. Fulgerion!'' he barked out a command.

The First company veteran came up. ''Sir'' he gave a salute.

''Take a combat squad and head into the headquarters, destroy the communication network but leave everything else intact and guard it'' the Librarian ordered.

''Yes sir'' any distaste that the veteran sergeant might have had of guarding xenos equipment was masked by the automatic obedience to his superior officer, as was the Eagle Claws combat practice. The officers led and the lower ranks took head.

''Were is Captain Kommneus?'' Questioned Trajan.

As if to answer his question the vox-link cracked to life.

''Brother-Librarian! Report!'' came the commanding voice of captain Kommenus as the rhinos trundled into view.

''And the cavalry arrives'' said Curtius.

12345

Kommneus, Curtius, Trajan, Fulgerion, Nepos, Quitnus and all the other Eagle Claws officers stood in a group as they watched rank after ranks of uniformed and armored guardsmen come out of the monolithic troop transports.

There were men from Catachan, and Valdia, from Cadia, from Hexevul, and from a dozen other worlds, guard officers stood in groups, arguing over the distribution of supplies and barracks.

After the Eagle Claws had taken out the tower they had fanned out into the suburbs, flushing out the few fire warriors that remained in the streets and the dwellings of the city.

The Jipponesse regiments had proved themselves exemplary in taking over the airfields and coordinating with the Eagle Claws in taking out the few remaining spots of Tau resistance that lingered.

Gerlaf station was the place's proper name again. The warmaster himself had praised the Eagle Claws for their exemplary conduct. Not that the astartes needed such praise, but it was always soothing to have their talents and their perfection recognized.

The Eagle Claws now garrisoned the city until the Guard could fully deploy. Which would take several days as the immense leviathan that that the hammer of the Emperor fully deployed.

The Eagle Claws would be redeployed when that happened. Through fourteen astartes had been killed in action and twenty-six wounded, it was not problem to the astartes as the Eagle Claws were renowned for the superior nature of their apothecaries and they had already recovered all of their geneseed.

It was not the end, there were still other Tau forces on Karevioa and the war wound not end then. But the sledgehammer of the Imperium had been brought to bear and the Eagle Claws would spearhead that.


End file.
